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I share Fernando's point of view. I have seen similar tracks (wild boar) in a close bog where D. rotundifolia and D. intermedia can be found. In that bog, it help for cleaning the first level of vegetation like carex and plants reborn from seedlings more numerous that before. Hope the same will happen there.

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Yes, this is typically what wild boar are doing, they are digging up garlic bulbs (Allium sp.) for their meal. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.) are widespread in Europe and live in mountain bogs, close to Pinguicula. Those pigs really enjoy those bulbs. As Eric said, this is in favour of reopening bog surface, butterworts are pioneer species and like nude peat (as Drosera do, at least temperate species, they both don't like vegetation competition), next years there will be for sure hundreds of seedlings.

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I agree with the wild boars... eh with the ohters, that that was done by wild boars The salamander looks to me like normal widespread Salamandra salamandra, but it could be some south european subsp. or so.

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Adam, about the salamander you seem to be right, looks like Salamandra salamandra.

Till now i don´t have seen any pigs, boars, chamois or mountain goats in these mountains, but perhaps they are hiding very successfully.

But you are right, garlic bulbs and chives are existing there, in fact very close to the Pinguicula, i´ve often identified the caracteristic smell of them.

About reopening bog surface, yes in a lot of the cases it looks like as if somebody or something has ploughed up the surface, searching for anything, like on the picture above or in this picture (near to the forrest, location number one at about 1500 meters).

I really hope that you are right and that next year there will be hundreds of new seedlings.

What i surely know is that there are existing Spermophilus citellus and red deer (cervus elaphus hippelaphus).

And during summer there are sometimes sheep from farmers.

But sometimes only the plants themselfes with a very small amount on substrate next to them have disappeared, it looks like as if they have been digged out, like on this picture. Near to these places i´ve even found fireplaces, nethertheless it´s forbidden to camp there. I´ve also seen bigger groups of gypsies there in the past searching for anything (creeping on the grass) but it´s too dangerous to ask them what exactely they are doing there. For money they would do anything, but perhaps i´m wrong in this case.

Jeff, thanks for these articles, really very interesting aspect. In Bulgaria they are making really a lot of cheese (product number one, mainly sheep cheese) and after i´ve also seen farmers with their sheep there it theoretically could also be a possibility.

About the hibernaculae, green plants have totally pale green coloured hibernaculae and the hibernaculae of most of the red plants are reddish at the tips of them, if they are exposed to full sun they are nearly totally red in the upper part.

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So my question, does anybody know if Pinguicula are used for medical sience or something like this (like for example some Drosera)?

Best regards,

Dani

Hi Dani,

I'm happy to see pics from my country

Well, let me tell something from the Bulgarian medicine. However the leaves of Pinguicula are used for treatment for snake bite and hard healing wounds. Mix with wite wine and Pings leaves, folk medicine in Bulgaria recomends them if you have hydropsy and like syrop if you have - diarrhea.

I'm from Plovdiv, I guess you know this town. However, yeah I know this mountain and I have visited it. Maybe later I will post pics in your thread if you allow :)

Don't worry however, about gipsies. They go in the mountain only to pick blueberries, blackberries and wild strawberries :) They don't interest in Pinguicula balcanika and will skip it.

I have bee there soon and don't worry I saw many seedlings of Pinguicila but they grow very high place in the mountain from where you have been my friend :) Pinguicula grows not only in this mountain but in most mountains in Bulgaria.

BTW many wild pigs come down now in winter where you were and they dig the ground.They destroyed pretty plants but there will again grow new plants. The same happens with D. rotundifolia in this mountain.

There is no way to get to places now this season because the marshes are rising, but you'll get an idea for small seedlings.

From Plovdiv, aaah, in the past i´ve been there several times because of some of my relatives, the last time only 4 weeks ago, it´s really a nice town.

Of course you can post pics here in my thread, it´s absolutely no problem.

Yes, i know that P. balcanica or D. rotundifolia is also growing in other parts of Bulgaria, like for example the Pirin or Rila massif or mount Kom or Mussala. I´ve visited these wonderful places several years ago but for my sadness i did not have a suitable camera.

Hopefully i´ll be able to visit some of these places next spring.

About the plants that had disappeared, of course i believe that sooner or later there will be a lot of seedlings again.

It´s reported that U. minor is also growing in this mountain. Have you ever discovered it somewhere?

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It´s reported that U. minor is also growing in this mountain. Have you ever discovered it somewhere?

Best regards,

Dani

Hi Dani,

since you were born in Sofia - that explains everything.

I have seen U. minor in two places in Bulgaria, yes. First, the Dragoman marsh and Srebarna resort in wild. It is common plant there. It can be seen also Aldrovanda there. Concerning Vitosha mountain U. minor can be seen at some particular places. A very small part of the Carnivorous plant society here in Bulgaria know these places and keep them in secret because some people can harm them.... We visit these places every year several times and I can assure you that the plants grow well. Some types of Utrics. can also be met very close to Plovdiv. Maybe some time I will show you these places if you want, of course.

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a few months ago i have been again in Bulgaria and of course i went also to the mountains but somehow i did not show the new pictures, perhaps because they are very similar to these i have shown before. On the German forum i have already shown these newer pictures so a few of you may already know them.

At about 2000 meters there still has been some snow so i could not revisit all locations i have shown last time.

The weather wasn´t really good and it often rained so these locations have been very wet, some plants were even submerged so i could not reach these places. Because of the not so good weather the red coloured plants have been only slightly reddish this time.

During my stay in Bulgaria we have had several earthquakes, 5,9 on the scale of Richter. The epicentre was only about 15km from the place we live when we are in Bulgaria (Sofia).

Interestingly there are several springs of hot water at the bottum of the massif and it tastes really good.

Later this year these locations dried out nearly completly, it has been a very long, hot and very dry summer, several months with temperatures above 30 degree and nearly no rain.

Location3 i also visited but the plants have not been in flower and location4 was still covered by some snow.

Here are the pictures.

Location1 at about 1500 meters, most plants have already been in flower.

Mites seem to like these flowers as well, often i saw them on the flowers.

Of course i found also some mutants like this one.

Location2, at about 1800 meters, 10 meters next to the flowering plants there was still some snow and some flowering crocus at the right.

Here not all plants have been in flower.

Green/yellow and red coloured plants next to each other.

yellow coloured plant

slightly reddish plant

green coloured plant

a group of greenish plants

A few days later much more plants have been in flower.

up to 3 flowers per plant, i even found some plants with 4 flowers.

These plants were growing between higher grasses, often nearly only the flowers were visible.

Hopefully you will like them and sorry for the big number of pictures.

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They differ in the colouration, the white spots and the different coloured bristles. Some flowers are nearly without any bristles or they are very short. The greenish plants often have more flowers, in most cases the flowers are more pale (also the spur) and they do have longer white coloured bristles.

The red coloured plants often have also purple coloured bristles which are shorter.

Here are some pictures from my plants at home.

different plant

Additionally the flowers of the green/yellow plants often are coloured nearly white from the lower side of the flower like you can see in these pictures, the spur is also relativly brightly coloured.

And here a picture i have already shown here in this thread.

And here is an example of a red coloured plant (well, in Germany the light level is not very high so this plant is not completly reddish), here you can also see the purple coloured bristles.

So far as i remember the seed capsules are also slightly different, next to round seed capsules i saw also elongated ones.

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Guest Andreas Eils

Guest Andreas Eils

I cannot believe I haven´t replied to your old post from 2010! *blush, blush blush* The reddish plants are particularly beautiful! Bulgaria is such a beautiful country I can well understand you fly over to there as often as you can! I wish I´d have relatives in Bulgaria! Or if I had enough money to emmigrate... Earthquakes? Sounds exciting! You just have to be at a save distance to the epicentre! Germany´s nature is so poor compared to other countries....no earthquakes, no volcanoes, no tsunamies, no spectacular landscape, just boring...